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Eating healthily while on a budget might seem a rather daunting task, particularly for a family. However, this does not have to be the case. A low budget does not have to mean a bad diet.

Special offers on snack foods might be tempting while healthier alternatives may often be more expensive but healthy eating does not necessarily correlate to expense.

Inexpensive fresh produce can be found in some supermarkets but are often cheaper in market places where they will often be of local origin which gives the added advantage of knowing where the food has come from and knowing that it would be fresh.

Loose fresh produce is preferable as it is often cheaper as there is no packaging and, also, it is possible to pick out the better produce rather than having something prepaked and not knowing the quality of the contents.

There is also the option of buying frozen foods which can be a lot cheaper than fresh produce. Frozen vegetables contain all the same nutrients as fresh, possibly more so because they are locked in by the freezing process. A kilo bag of broccolli, for example, may cost the same prize as two fresh large spears of the same product. It also takes less time to cook frozen vegetables than fresh therefore saving time on the cooking as well as saving money on the energy used for cooking.

It is fair to say that buying vegetables and fruit on a budget is not difficult once you know where to find it. However, finding a good, inexpensive cut of meat is a lot harder. Meat is expensive and the cheaper meats are often not of very good quality. A local butcher is often the best place to go for a good cut of meat. A good local butcher will be happy to cut off a piece which fits into any budget and will give advice on the best pieces. A good sized cut of meat can make several meals so sometimes it might make sense to purchase one larger cut of meat rather than separate smaller pieces.

While butchers tend to provide the best cuts of meat at reasonable prices, they are still not within everone's budget. There are, however, some specialist butchers within supermarkets and other stores who can help choose good cuts of meat at reasonable prices. Looking for a good cut without knowing what to look for is difficult but not impossible. For basic meat dishes, a cheap option is minced meat with minced turkey being a more healthy option than beef as well as being cheaper.

When looking for a lean piece, the first thing to look for is the fat content. A piece with a lot of fat is not going to be good value. Meats which look more red tend to be overprocessed so a darker colour would usually indicate a better quality.

There are some foods which it may be advisable to avoid while on a budget. Of course it might be a problem when unhealthy, salty and sugary snacks are offered at such low prices sometimes. However, there are alternatives to chocolate, crisps, salted snacks, etc. "Superfoods" such as whole nuts can give a full feeling and, while they are initially more expensive than some sugary snacks, they are full of nutrients.

Choosing a snack based solely on the price is not a good option. Lower prices are great and the odd sugary snack won't hurt but a better option for filling, healthy snacks would be in the form of nuts, fruit and pulses.

Foods such as chocolate and sugary sweets should be avoided. They have almost no nutritional value and are not filling so buying them on a budget when it can work out cheaper and healthier to buy an apple than a chocolate bar should definitely be avoided.

Learn more about this author, Sapphire Magpie Ravenclaw.
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